Olympia 2019 showing judges announced

The British Show Pony Society (BSPS) has released the names of the four panel judges who will be officiating in the 2019 Le Mieux BSPS Mountain and Moorland Heritage supreme ridden championship to be held at the Olympia International Horse Show (16-22 December).

The judges for the coveted final — which was won by the Connemara Banks Timber and Sandra Burton last season — are:

Olympia 2019 showing judges: conformation

Jennifer Williams

Diane Jordan

Olympia 2019 showing judges: performance

Nigel Hollings

Nicola Turner

Competitors can book their Olympia tickets by going champion at one of the few direct qualifiers held at select shows throughout the season, or by qualifying and competing in the semi-finals which are to be held at the BSPS Heritage championships in October. The Heritage championships also hosts 12 separate qualifiers for each of the native breeds.

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A full list of qualifiers and how to enter will be provided by the BSPS later in the year.

In the 2018 final, only five of the 12 best of breeds made the top 10, with Welsh ponies dominating the majority of the top slots.

During the competition, the performance judges are required to hold up their marks after each combination has finished their individual show, while the conformation scores are only revealed with the final results, which are presented during the afternoon performance.

For all the latest equestrian news and reports, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday. In this week’s issue, don’t miss an interview with show horse legend Robert Oliver, exclusive training tips from gold medallist Ros Canter and pages of hunting reports, out 17 January.